Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2024 Feb 16;19(2):e0298245. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298245. eCollection 2024.
The gut microbiota maintains a deeply symbiotic relationship with host physiology, intricately engaging with both internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) factors. Anurans, especially those in temperate regions, face the dual challenges of significant external influences like hibernation and complex internal variances tied to different life histories. In our research, we sought to determine whether different life stages (juvenile versus adult) of the Japanese wrinkled frog (Glandirana rugosa) lead to distinct shifts in gut bacterial communities during winter (hibernation) and its subsequent transition to spring. As hypothesized, we observed a more pronounced variability in the gut bacterial diversity and abundance in juvenile frogs compared to their adult counterparts. This suggests that the gut environment may be more resilient or stable in adult frogs during their hibernation period. However, this pronounced difference was confined to the winter season; by spring, the diversity and abundance of gut bacteria in both juvenile and adult frogs aligned closely. Specifically, the variance in gut bacterial diversity and composition between winter and spring appears to mirror the frogs' ecological adaptations. During the hibernation period, a dominance of Proteobacteria suggests an emphasis on supporting intracellular transport and maintaining homeostasis, as opposed to active metabolism in the frogs. Conversely, come spring, an uptick in bacterial diversity coupled with a dominance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes points to an upsurge in metabolic activity post-hibernation, favoring enhanced nutrient assimilation and energy metabolism. Our findings highlight that the relationship between the gut microbiome and its host is dynamic and bidirectional. However, the extent to which changes in gut bacterial diversity and composition contribute to enhancing hibernation physiology in frogs remains an open question, warranting further investigation.
肠道微生物群与宿主生理学保持着深度共生关系，与内部（内源性）和外部（外源性）因素错综复杂地交织在一起。蛙类，特别是那些生活在温带地区的蛙类，面临着冬眠等外部因素和不同生活史相关的复杂内部变化的双重挑战。在我们的研究中，我们试图确定日本皱皮蛙（Glandirana rugosa）的不同生命阶段（幼体与成体）在冬季（冬眠）及其随后向春季过渡期间是否会导致肠道细菌群落发生明显变化。正如假设的那样，我们观察到幼体青蛙的肠道细菌多样性和丰度变化比成体更为明显。这表明在冬眠期间，成体青蛙的肠道环境可能更有弹性或更稳定。然而，这种明显的差异仅限于冬季；到了春季，幼体和成体青蛙的肠道细菌多样性和丰度则紧密一致。具体来说，肠道细菌多样性和组成在冬季和春季之间的差异似乎反映了青蛙的生态适应。在冬眠期间，变形菌门的优势地位表明其强调支持细胞内运输和维持内稳态，而不是活跃的代谢。相反，到了春季，细菌多样性的增加伴随着厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门的优势地位，表明冬眠后代谢活性的增加，有利于增强营养吸收和能量代谢。我们的研究结果表明，肠道微生物组与其宿主之间的关系是动态的和双向的。然而，肠道细菌多样性和组成的变化在多大程度上有助于增强青蛙的冬眠生理学仍然是一个悬而未决的问题，需要进一步研究。
